Lori L. Wilson, MD, FACS, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Chief of Surgical Oncology at Howard University Hospital & Professor, College of Medicine; is an accomplished surgical oncologist, clinician scientist, mentor, and community activist. As prior General Surgery Program Director, she mentored thirty-three outstanding young surgeons. Dr Wilson completed her undergraduate and medical school training at Georgetown University, general surgery residency at Howard University Hospital (HUH) then completed a fellowship in Complex Surgical Oncology at John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI) and Cedar Siniai. Her first faculty position was at UConn Health as Associate Director of Surgery, Melanoma and GI Programs as well as Surgical Director of The UConn Clinical and Translational Breast Program in The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Her global surgery efforts have led to 9 humanitarian missions to low resourced countries in Africa. Dr. Wilson has developed several programs at Howard University Cancer Center to serve under-represented minorities, which is a mission of hers. She received an R01 grant as well as others to aid in this mission. Dr. Wilson has been active as the Cancer Liaison Physician of the ACS as well as the CoC State Chair DC. She been Director of the monthly Howard University Cancer Center Mammoday Program for 9 years providing free breast cancer care for underinsured and uninsured patients.
Nationally, she has led the Susan G. Komen African American Health Equity Initiative and led the development of a national literacy campaign, “Know Your Girls” which was supported by newsprint, radio and national news networks. As a national surveyor for the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, she surveyed over 80 programs focusing on breast health with dedication to improvement of quality outcomes for patients.
Her engagement with the lay public regarding health literacy is found in magazines and newspapers including, The New York Times & NYT OpEd, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Essence Magazine, Vogue, Better Homes and Garden. She shares her own journey in the Ken Burns’ Documentary based on the Pulitzer Prize Winner, Cancer The Emperor of All Maladies, where she was followed and eloquently helped to reshape the way the public sees cancer.
Dr. Wilson has served on the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society, African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA) as well as the Advisory Board of other cancer-related organizations such as ACT for NIH.
Dr. Wilson has given over 180 academic and community lectures capped by an invitation to the White House from former President Obama to discuss healthcare disparities.